This invention relates to sanitary coverings for beverage lids, particularly those used on and applied to disposable cups and particularly for lids that are placed on cups containing hot beverages such as coffee, tea or hot chocolate. The present invention also relates to an add-on sanitary barrier for a beverage lid of any design, which barrier can be applied after manufacture of such lid and does not to interfere with the traditional stacking or packaging of such lids. Although it is not limited to any particular application, the preferred use would be to cover a beverage lid with a pre-formed drinking aperture.
It is widely believed that human hands are the leading cause of the spread of communicable diseases. People who serve coffee and other beverages having disposable lids typically do not wear gloves, often also handle money, and may not otherwise observe sanitary food service practices. The present invention addresses consumers' concerns that the portion of the beverage lid on which consumers place their mouths has been in direct contact with another person's bare hands or has been otherwise contaminated.
The use and design of various disposable beverage lids is well known in the prior art. The prior art teaches various forms of tamper proof coverings for cans, containers or the like and various permutations on preventing spillage of the beverage in the container, but none teaches an effective sanitary covering for disposable beverage lids. The prior art teaches various coverings for cans to prevent contamination that typically occurs at various stages in the manufacturing, shipping and storing stages and there are many designs for beverage lids and methods of preventing spillage of a beverage. There have also been many attempts at providing a method of detecting tampering.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,270 to Main et al. teaches an attachment with a rupturable membrane for a pop-top beverage container, with a weak membrane and elastic covering that stretches over the entire top of the container. Unlike the present invention, this product is for a container and not a removable lid and is intended to prevent contamination of the beverage contents. This product also interferes with the stacking of the product on which it is intended to be used, and this product is different than the disposable lids for which the present invention is invented. Also, it uses much more material and cannot be used for the disposable beverage lids for which the present invention is intended.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,048 to Howard teaches an aluminum foil covering for pop-top cans, which covering remains attached to the can and covers the top of the container. This covering is intended to remain attached to the container, covers the entire top, not just the mouth contact area, and does not contemplate or provide a solution for disposable beverage lids.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,616 to Baker discloses a protective sheet that covers the entire top and bottom of the lid with a perforated section that allows the sheet to be torn once placed on a cup rim and then pulled through a hole by the user once it has been placed on a beverage container. There are several drawbacks to this invention. First, any microorganisms on the bottom protective sheet will contaminate the beverage on which the lid is placed, whether because of agitation or whether the beverage splashes up against the sheet or otherwise. Second, this invention requires significant material and a complex manufacturing process. Third, the removal process requires that the sheet be agitated and, because the sheet will change form as it constricts to be pulled through the hole in the lid, any dust or other dirt thereon will be caused to fall into the beverage that is being consumed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,268 to Stahlecker teaches a cover for the top of a container that already has a sealed opening, where beverage contents are discharged on top of the container beyond the previously sealed opening. This invention does not contemplate or teach the same means for covering the container mouth area as does the present invention, where beverage contents are discharged directly from a drinking aperture into a consumer's mouth.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,323 to DeRose teaches a protective seal for pop tab type cans that fastens a seal to the tab opener and can be swiveled to the side once removed by the user. This design is not removable by the user, is only for pop tab type cans and is intended to prevent tampering at the point of manufacture.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,899,244 to Takayama describes a method of preventing tampering, whereby, once a pop-top container has been used, the container is prevented from being reused as a new container.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,111,749 to Akers discloses a cover piece for coffee cup lids that uses a flat piece to essentially cover the preformed hole for a mouthpiece that can be removed by the user with his or her thumb and forefinger. This piece does not provide any sanitary prevention and is only designed to prevent spillage, as are other lid designs with various methods of covering the drinking hole. Moreover, the application of this piece to a lid by a server or consumer, and the removal of such by the consumer, increases the likelihood of contaminating the drinking area.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,191,911 to O'Neill discloses a resealable tab for a drinking cup and a resealable method of covering a drinking hole. However, the resealable tab does not extend far enough around the lid to provide meaningful sanitary protection. Unlike the present invention, the tab is intended to cover only the drinking aperture and nothing more. In addition, placing the resealable tab on other portions of the lid and again placing it over the mouth hole in the manner disclosed may contaminate the mouth area with any microorganisms that previously resided on the region of the lid surface on which it was temporarily placed.
Each of the prior devices discussed above has one or more disadvantages that either prevent it from being easily implemented in the beverage industry or do not accomplish the same objectives as the present invention. For example, the products that apply to soda cans or other metallic cans are not instructive because the process that often leads to their contamination is not applicable to the lids contemplated in the present invention. Most of the lids for which the present invention is created are stacked and packaged in bulk, and thus are not very susceptible to contamination until just before they are placed on a container and served to consumers. None of the prior inventions teaches a practical and cost-effective sanitary method of covering the area on which a consumer places his or her mouth on a beverage container lid.